Film Review (Blu-ray) - The Lesson (2023)

Who said thrillers can’t be elegant? Alice Troughton‘s ‘The Lesson‘ has plenty of elegance and mystery. No one is quite what they seem, with lingering dark secrets ready to creep out and reveal all.

This film marks her directorial feature debut. Troughton has made a name for herself in television, especially for shows like Doctor Who (no relation to the first doctor, Patrick Troughton), Torchwood, Eastenders, and Merlin, to name a few.

It stars Daryl McCormack (who also co-stars with Emma Thompson in ‘Good Luck To You Leo Grande‘) in the role of Liam, a literature student, aspiring author, and English tutor during the summer months. He’s hired by the renowned British writer J.M. Sinclair (played by Richard E. Grant) to tutor J.M.’s son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) on his leafy estate, with the goal of preparing him to gain admission to Oxford University and please his father.

Initially, Liam must contend with J.M.’s wife, the seductive Helene (Julie Delpy), who is a formidable art curator. At times, she rarely gets to speak when her husband is around.

At first, you can see that Liam feels a little intimidated and cautious about doing things, as J.M. Sinclair is his idol. Gradually, over time, Liam earns the trust of his hero to the point where he is invited into J.M.’s office, which was previously off-limits.

J.M. hasn’t written a book for many years, and we do learn the reasons for this, all thanks to the death of his other son, Felix, who drowned in the pond on the estate. This pond closely resembles Claude Monet’s painting of his garden at his home in Giverny.

Like a house of cards, Liam starts to learn more and more about the Sinclair family’s dark past. Helene drags him into a plan that threatens his own future.

The Lesson is divided into parts, much like a book: epilogue, prologue, I, II, and III. It begins with Liam about to be interviewed in front of an audience about his debut book. Each part represents a different stage in the film’s progression.

There are flashbacks to interviews with J.M. Sinclair, both in person and on social media. One quote that J.M. uses ends with him saying, ‘Good writers steal.’ This quote becomes relevant and resonates with what is unfolding in front of us.

From Liam’s room, he has a voyeuristic front-row seat into his idol’s office. He is curious to know what J.M. is doing and also watches intimate moments with Helene.It’s not long before Helene seduces Liam when her husband is away from home, setting up a ridiculous finale that somewhat spoils the good buildup in the previous two-thirds of the film.

The film is a slow burner that keeps you on edge, leaving you wondering what’s really going on and what the ulterior motives of everyone are. Alex MacKieth’s screenplay teases what each character’s role in the film might be.

Performances are good, especially Richard E.Grant, who is magnetic.

Chillingly atmospheric, it plays with its noirish aesthetics as if they were taken from the pages of a Patricia Highsmith novel. There’s even a scene in which J.M. is watching a Diana Dor’s noir film, and behind him, there’s a poster of the classic 1945 noir ‘Detour,’ offering little clues about what might happen in this film.

‘The Lesson‘ is a film about grief, guilt, plagiarism, and obsession—a film caught in a web of deceit that leaves you wondering who is manipulating whom.